Pianist Balázs Szokolay
Biography
Balázs Szokolay was born into
a family of musicians in Budapest in 1961. His father is a Kossuth prizewinner,
composer Sándor Szokolay.
Balázs started to play the piano at the age
of five, taught by Erna Czövek.
Later, at the Ferenc
Liszt Academy of Music, his professors included Klára Máthé,
Pál Kadosa, Zoltán Kocsis, György Kurtág, and Ferenc Rados.
Following his graduation in 1983, he won scholarships for two more years of studies
in Munich and Moscow . He
was instructed by Mikhail S. Voskresensky, Amadeus Webersinke, Ludwig Hoffmann and Yvonne Lefebure. From 1973 to 1990, he has been a prizewinner at many international piano and chamber music competitions, including Usti-nad-Labem, Zwickau , Leeds , Brussels , Montreal , Terni , and Budapest . More recently, he has been a frequent juror in major music competitions in countries such as the Netherlands , Italy , Bulgaria , and Russia . He has given concerts and offered masterclasses in over thirty countries on four continents. His repertoire covers a wide range of styles with a strong focus on chamber music. Among his chamber music partners are Clemens Hagen, Aurčle Nicolet, Zoltán Kocsis, Miklós Perényi, Gervaise de Peyer. As a soloist, Mr. Szokolay has performed with many orchestras, including the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra and the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra under Sir Simon Rattle. In Belgrade , he replaced at the last moment Nikita Magaloff in the Brahms Concerto No. 1. To further expand his repertoire, Szokolay played harpsichord and conducted the Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in London . He has recorded extensively with Naxos , Hungaroton, and other recording companies. One of his Grieg-Naxos CDs was named “Record of the Year” by London ’s Daily Telegraph in 1992. He has played numerous radio and television broadcasts at the request, among others, of the BBC - London, the RIAS - Berlin, the AVRO and TROS - Holland, the RAI - Torino, the CBC - Canada, and the Hungarian Radio and Television. He has been
a piano professor at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest since 1987. During the 1997-98 academic year, he worked as a guest
professor at Yeungnam University , South Korea . In the Spring Semester
of 2006, he was invited as a Visiting Scholar and piano professor at
Montclair State University in New Jersey , USA
. In
2001, he was awarded the
prestigious Liszt Prize
by the Hungarian Government. Concerts and Events
Balazs Szokolay has given concerts more than 30 countries, his major ones included: 1979: Interforum Hungary; "Szene der
Jugend" Salzburg. 1983: Replaced Nikita Magaloff in Belgrade
(to play Brahms: Piano
Concerto N°I). 1986: Schleswig-Holstein Festival. 1987: Recital at Wigmore
Hall, London; Hong Kong (City Hall); 1991: With orchestra at the Queen
Elizabeth Hall, London; 1992: Recital at the
Concertgebouw; 1993: Canadian tour; 1994: Concerts in Iraq
and Jordan; 1995: recitals in Cleveland(USA) 1997-98: guest professor at the «Yeungnam»
University in South Korea 2000: Concerts in Germany;
Korea; Jury member in concourses in Italy and
Holland 2002:
Liszt F. Academy - recital
with TV recording ; 2003: Bordeaux-Operahaus - Duo concerts with Miklós Perényi( cello) 2004: Moscow - Scrjabin Piano Competition - Jury; CD-recording 2005: Duo recital with
M. Perényi in Dubai; Concerts with orchestra in Germany, Ukraine, Slovakia; Masterclasses
in England and Finland; Jury membership in Italy. 2006: Recitals in USA and Canada (New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New Jersey, Toronto) Awards
He won fourteen different prizes at international piano and chamber music competitions: 1st Prize: Usti-nad-Labem, Budapest. 2nd Prize:
Glasgow, Monza, Terni (no 3rd Prize: Zwickau. 4th Prize: Leeds, Munich-ARD. Other Prizes: Montreal, Brussels (Queen Elizabeth Competition).
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